


Memories Lost and Sometimes Made

by BitterKate



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Adventure, Blushing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Memory Loss, Romance, Size Difference, Slow Burn, Zora Anatomy, probably smut at some point, tags will change over time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21577123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterKate/pseuds/BitterKate
Summary: Link has been feeling out of place in post-Calamity Ganon Hyrule. On a suggestion from Zelda, Link takes time to visit Prince Sidon as a way to continue his exploration of Hyrule and continue to discover memories he had lost.
Relationships: Link & Prince Sidon, Link/Prince Sidon
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Memories Lost and Sometimes Made

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy so this is a fic I wrote a few years ago, recently found again, and wanted to share. I think it will be a few chapters long and it may become smut at some point, so the rating and tags will be updated as needed. My schedule is pretty sporadic so updates may or may not happen! At this point it's just a feel-good/budding romance fic that I'm posting for fun when I can. Also, un-beta-ed! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading the beginning of my little fanfic!

Link was waiting until evening to approach the Zora domain. Having settled next to a campfire, he cooked a meal using his Hearty Durians, preparing for the worst. He had learned the hard way that a meal could be the only difference between life and death in battle. While cooking, he thought about his most recent conversations with Zelda.

His memories of life before his stasis were still foggy, which concerned Zelda. He was still not accustomed to the new pathways certain landmarks and pictures opened up in his mind, events and faces becoming muddled between past and present. With sudden onslaughts of new memories at any given time, Link was never truly able to relax.

He had reacquired eight “keystone” memories, as Zelda called them, in the time leading up to defeating Ganon. In the process of putting Link into his stasis, the Mages had selected the memories through careful design. 

_To be honest,_ Link thought, _the Mages picked well._ They had immensely helped in rediscovering his purpose from before sleeping for one hundred years. 

But Link still felt like there were gaps within himself. The memories selected by the mages symbolized the mere bones of his life before and not the living, breathing ebb and flow of it. He could not recall the faces of his parents, names of his childhood friends, places he lived, nor activities he liked. It bothered Link that he was a tourist of his past life and not the guide. As such, there were still many surprises – some welcome and some not – even after the land was free of the Calamity Ganon. 

One of those welcome surprises was the endless energy and merriment of the Prince of the Zoras. Link felt there was an immediate connection forged between him and Sidon those many months ago when defeating Divine Beast Vah Ruta; his effortless cheer had been so refreshing throughout the pain and struggle Link had to face to achieve his quest. 

Zelda encouraged Link to visit the Prince, and Link suspected it was to do with the task she assigned to him of “making new positive memories to strengthen your internal and external pathways to old ones.” She mentioned that the physical act of walking across Hyrule would help with his memory recall as well, which had something to do with the widespread use of Sheikah magic across the land, the very same magic that powered his previous stasis… 

Getting lost in his thoughts, Link failed to notice a red, angular head breach the surface of the river next to him. A voice called out:

“Hello, Cham—”

Link was immediately on his feet, wrenching his neck and back sharply and springing away from the waters’ edge, his Royal Bow primed with a shock arrow. Lungs heaving, his wildly roving eyes focussed on the source of the noise.

Prince Sidon was trying to duck down at the shallow shoreline, which was difficult with his large body; with no time to swim deeper, his hands had risen to protect his face along with fins standing on end. He had one eye closed in anticipation of Link’s cocked arrow, and the other blown wide in shock. Slowly lowering his hands – and relaxing his fins – while opening the closed eye, Sidon’s easy grin slid onto his face. Cupping one hand to his mouth he tried speaking to Link again, in a weak attempt at a lower volume level:

“Hello, Champion! So glad you could make it!”

Link, blushing, carefully stored his arrow and bow, _How embarrassing! Was he so high strung that he would mistake friend for foe? Maybe Zelda was right._

For so long Link had to depend on his instincts to survive. Waking up without knowing himself, needing to hunt and gather for food, battling monsters and dismantling traps daily had set him on a permanent edge. Link felt that its’ sharpness was comparable to the Master Sword. Realizing he was getting lost in his thoughts again, Link waved meekly at the Prince and bowed his head. 

“Oh, Link, do not be worried! That was merely a hero’s instinct and I’m so glad I got to witness it once again in action! You are truly amazing.”

Scuffing one foot against the ground and looking askance, Link waved his other hand in dismissal at Sidon, but at the kind words he was now also smiling. And blushing. Again. He looked inquisitively at the Prince and noticed something different about his outfit. He pointed to the pack that had been strapped across his chest.

Sidon laughed, “Oh this? On my way to meet you, I was searching for a variety of seaweed that is useful in healing small cuts and bruises. It’s called Laruto’s Fern! This pack will keep them fresh until I can deliver them back to the healers. I can tell by your puzzled expression that you are wondering why I, Sidon, am doing such a task? Well, the answer is simple. I have always aimed to follow in my sister’s footsteps, even in the smallest of ways. I only knew her when I was quite young, a mere minnow, and even though I never attained her ability in healing I always admired her perseverance to help others. By directly aiding in the maintenance of the health of my people, even in such a small way, I believe I make her proud.”

Accustomed by now to Sidon’s tendency to give floods of information, Link waded through it with ease. However, at the mention of Sidon’s older sister, the late champion Mipha, Link frowned. 

From his memories, Link gleaned that Mipha was kind and compassionate, and that she had apparently cared for Link more than most. Meeting her spirit had confirmed his suspicions. But, try as he might, he could recall little of Mipha other than the saved memories from his Sheikah slate. If only he had had more time to speak with her when he was saving the guardian Vah Ruta, then maybe…

“Oh, Link! Sorry, I didn’t realize I had begun to ramble. Would you care to join me in looking for the seaweed before we go to the Zora Domain?” Sidon inquired.

In answer, and with a smile on his lips, Link donned his Zora armour and walked towards the water.

-

Underwater, Link liked the silence and near-absence of gravity. Leading up to the final battle with Calamity Ganon, Link had spent little time exploring the underwater world of Hyrule. There had been too much distance to traverse before Ganon returned and once he acquired his Magnesis Rune ability diving down for sunken treasure seemed inefficient. It was only after a few months had passed that Link tried out his Zora armour again, discovering he could breathe underwater while he wore it. 

Mipha had crafted the armour for Link personally, apparently using her own scales as the main material. Zelda said that Zora scales were highly prized for their magical properties. Link gazed at the armour curiously and wondered if it held any other secrets.

_I thought Mipha’s scales were red? I’ll have to ask Sidon about it later._

Submerged and swimming alongside Sidon through a gently illuminated underwater passage, Link noted the differences between Sidon and his late sister. Sidon was so much bigger than Mipha ever was, and his personality was so much more extroverted. However, they both shared an attention to detail and strategy that Link always appreciated, as well as a deep sense of responsibility for protecting others. Before his memories started returning, Sidon was the first Zora Link had ever met. It was an odd experience to learn that he had spent vast amounts of time with Mipha in the Zora Domain before everything had happened.

With Sidon’s bag stuffed fill of Laruto’s Fern, the two of them had started to make their way back to the Zora Domain. Link curiously peered at the walls and plant life in the cave. They appeared to glow from within, shining opalescent blue, green, and pink tones. They cast soft patterns on Sidon’s scales as he swam by. 

Sidon looked back at Link and smiled. To his surprise, when Sidon started speaking he could hear him clearly. _Another forgotten gift. Thank you, Mipha._

“We’re about halfway there now, Link. Feel free to grab onto my shoulders if you would like a rest from swimming! In fact, why don’t we try it out? It will be good to experiment, just in case. I’ll be mindful not to hit you with my head fins.”

Link opened his mouth in protest, a few stray bubbles rising quickly from his mouth to the roof of the tunnel. But comprehension dawned upon Link, Sidon probably wanted to hurry back and was too polite to tell Link directly. The seaweed was for the Zoras and Link was delaying the delivery! He winced as he realized that Sidon had probably been swimming slowly just so Link could keep up. Kicking up to position himself behind Sidon’s shoulders, Link was careful to avoid his fins. 

“Thank you, Link! Here, if you could just wrap your arms around my neck — tightly mind you — we shall be in the Zora Doman before morning!”

Link grabbed on, concerned he would cut off Sidon’s breathing if he grabbed too tightly. Sidon noticed the light hold.

“Oh, don’t worry, Link! No matter how hard you hold, I shall be quite alright! My scales are quite durable, I shan’t be bothered in the slightest!”

Link nodded in confirmation and tightened his hold. Having no other choice, he pressed his face close to the side of Sidon’s head to avoid his fins, so close he could see the subtle outlines of his solid red scales. In holding onto Sidon’s neck and shoulders, Link was once again reminded of how large the Zora prince was compared to him. Feeling small and more than a little bit useless, Link tapped his hand on Sidon’s collarbone to signal his readiness. 

“That’s perfect, Link. Ready? Then let’s go!”

Suddenly, they were shifting through the water more quickly than Link thought possible. His eyes widened as the beauty of the cave life around him shifted into blurring hues that faded in and out around them as Sidon swam through the twisting tunnel. His grip tightened more around Sidon, afraid that he would get lost in the vibrancy of it all and lose his hold and delay the delivery longer. 

Having taken notice, Sidon grinned broadly enough to reveal sharp teeth. Link swore he saw Sidon wink and then they seemed to go even faster.

They twisted quickly around a series of corners and then they were in the air. Time seemed to freeze, reminding Link of the effects of his Stasis Rune as he looked at the water droplets suspended around them. They were now above the Zora Domain and Link clearly saw King Dorephan’s throne room. Down below, Link noticed their shadows in the moon’s reflection as they flew through the air. Hypnotized by its bright light, Link almost lost his grip on Sidon’s smooth scales as they splashed back down underwater while nearly missing a walkway. 

Startled by the entry, Link was even further surprised by what lay ahead. The Zora Domain was quite obviously what he was looking at, but it was a part he had never seen. Link had heard tell of icebergs from far-travelled Ritos, huge crystalline formations that crested above the water’s surface and were actually a hundred times larger beneath. Gazing upon the vast underwater city below them, that was the only thing Link could think of. The Zora Domain went far deeper than he had ever anticipated. 

“Welcome, Link, to the City of Zora!” Sidon said as they started to swim past a few spires. “We are heading down towards the bottom level to deliver the seaweed, and then we will come back to the surface so I can show you to your rooms for the night.” 

Link didn’t respond, awestruck by the hidden depths of the kingdom. As they descended, Link couldn’t look away from the wonders that were being revealed around him. 

_Maybe Zelda was right,_ Link thought, _If I keep exploring new places I’ll be too distracted to worry about what memories I lost. It’s about time that I made some new ones instead._


End file.
